TransferWise removes all the wrongness, letting people send money abroad at the lowest possible true cost. Using only real exchange rates and tiny not-hidden-fees. Headaches averted, and a revolution sparked.

How it happened

Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann are two friends who believe that money is meant to flow freely. But in the absence of a global currency, it doesn’t. An epiphany saved them thousands of pounds.

Taavet had worked for Skype in Estonia, so was paid in euros, but lived in London. Kristo worked in London, but had a mortgage in euros back in Estonia. They devised a simple scheme. Each month the pair checked that day’s mid-market rate on Reuters to find a fair exchange rate. Kristo put pounds into Taavet’s UK bank account, and Taavet topped up his friend’s euro account with euros. Both got the currency they needed, and neither paid a cent in hidden bank charges.

Media & Awards

Revolutionaries Needed

We’re not a bank. Not even close. In fact, we’re pretty much the opposite. We’re flipping a gazillion dollar industry on its head. And we’re looking for revolutionaries.
See open positions

FOUNDERS

Kristo Käärmann
Executive Founder

Kristo lived and breathed the world of finance from the inside. At PwC and Deloitte, he helped banks and insurers bring their processes and systems into the 21st century. But stunned by the inefficiency of financial institutions, he wanted to do more. At TransferWise, he is in charge of all operations activities, technology, development, compliance and regulatory issues.

Taavet Hinrikus
Founder, CEO

Taavet likes things that are simple, reliable, and cost no more than they should. As Skype's first employee, he helped build a company that has changed hundreds of millions of lives. He’s since helped various companies as an angel investor and advisor. At TransferWise, Taavet looks after marketing, product development, PR, and investor relations.

Investors

TransferWise is backed by a fantastic team of smart investors who believe that there’s a dire need for innovation in financial services. In addition to the great institutional investors below, we’re supported by private individuals who founded or are building Virgin, PayPal, Skype, Betfair, Simple.com and others.

TransferWise Singapore Pte Ltd is a company incorporated under the laws of Singapore with Unique Entity Number 201422384R. TransferWise Singapore Pte Ltd is regulated as a remittance business by The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) license: 01412. You can verify this is information at the MAS website here.